FOR years, sports autobiographies have been riddled with self-righteous and predictable life stories.

Very few sporting stars, let alone those genuinely at the top of their game, have managed to write compelling books.

So when James Willstrop decided to write his own autobiography, few could have imagined it would become one of the most talked about books in years.

Willstrop’s tome – Shot and a Ghost: A Year in the Brutal World of Professional Squash – is unlike any other.

But then, the 29-year-old world squash number one is unlike most people.

His status should make him a national sporting icon but while tennis star Andy Murray can immediately attract attention with anything he says or does, Willstrop walks the streets without being recognised.

Thanks to his remarkable book however, Willstrop is finally receiving the recognition he and the sport undoubtedly deserves.

James Willstrop has written a brutally honest autobiography

Shot and a Ghost is one of seven titles nominated for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year award – high praise for a book that even Willstrop agrees “has probably sold the least amount of copies on the whole list.”

But while his autobiography may have been outsold, it offers a refreshing and unique insight into the physical and mental strains of professional sport.

“I think a lot of athletes don’t actually get to the bottom of their life stories,” the Norfolk-born athlete told Express.co.uk.

“I play one of the hardest sports in the world and although we collectively go through a lot of great experiences, we also go through a lot of awful disappointments.

“We lead a life where we are jetlagged from travelling and have to stay unbelievably fit and in great shape.

"It just makes for a very interesting life really and that was something I really wanted to convey.”

Such a yearning to write something uniquely different monopolised Willstrop’s life for the best part of two years.

With help from his girlfriend Vanessa Atkinson and Daily Telegraph journalist Rod Gilmour, Willstrop managed to diarise a whole year of his life, together with flashback sequences from several years before.

From a debilitating illness in Cairo to his rivalry with fellow Yorkshireman Nick Matthew, every experience and emotion is documented.

And when you consider he was juggling writing the book with maintaining his status in the game, it's not surprising the process was arduous.

He adds: "It was quite difficult trying to meet deadlines and to actually get the work finished during tournaments.

“I actually had three of my biggest tournament wins of my life which took me to the number one spot so maybe the distraction helped my game.

"I think the hardest bit though was going over and over it again and again.

“When I look back on the whole process, we really didn’t know what we were doing to be honest.

"Rod obviously gave a lot of input but it was difficult for him to know everything about proof reading.

“In the end, we just learnt so much and if I was going to write another book again, I would know an awful lot more.”

Since the book was published at the start of this year, Willstrop has managed to firmly establish himself at the top of the men’s game.

He has held the number one spot for ten consecutive months and will defend his Hong Kong Open title within weeks.

Yet for all his success, Willstrop has also experienced many lows - and this contrast reverberates throughout the book, not least when he writes movingly of the loss of his mother to cancer in 2000.

“I just tried to be honest,” adds the Yorkshire-based athlete.

“Everything with my mum was a big part of my life and there were a lot of times when I was writing that I was thinking about her. I wanted to write about her and it was going to be part of the diary regardless.

“It was never going to be a sporting autobiography. It was my book and my diary so in the end, I just thought that I can’t leave these bits out."

Just listening to Willstrop it is hard not to become captivated by his candidness and sincerity.

In sport it is rare to find someone who speaks so honestly about their personal life; even more so when you witness Willstrop’s on-court demeanour.

Regimented in his routine, his focus and compulsive mannerisms are such that the outside world is almost cut off from existence.

He is clearly a very private individual and even admits that he has trouble “opening up” to members of his family. So why did he feel so compelled to make his feelings accessible to strangers?

“I don’t really know why. I’m not a particularly public person and normally keep things close to myself," he says.

“Some people will say ‘why did you put that in the book, it’s about sport?’ But it’s not really about sport. It is a diary about my life and how I was feeling at different stages.

“The fact that people have responded so well to it is great really and to be shortlisted for an award as well is just phenomenal.”

Ironically, many people may now recognise Willstrop as an author rather than a professional squash player.

He adds: "It’s really surprising that the book has received so much attention because squash is such a low profile sport and I am such a low profile figure.

“Squash is not doing massive amounts for its marketing because it hasn’t got the resources or the money to market itself.

"It needs to generate memories for kids to take away and I think the book is an unbelievable vehicle which can really add something to the sport.”

With squash vying for Olympic inclusion in 2020, the sport certainly needs all the promotion it can get.